It's Green Iori
by Starla Q
Summary: Junpei finds something on the hunt for a shadow, a 'substance'. He ends up having second thoughts. Will he dispose of it, or keep using it?
1. Chapter 1

**THE FIRST CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED!!!**

I realized that I wrote this before I had a computer at home, so I couldn't use a spell checker. I have aquired one, so I figured it was time to do some corrections.

The story should be much more tollerable now. There were SO many mistakes. I'm sure I got them all now though.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Making a quick left Junpei made his way down the stairs in Port Island Station only to be face to face with none other than a rogue shadow, surrounded by coffins. "There you are, you're not getting any of them." He said, sword in hand. Fuuka had noticed a shadow slip out of Tartarus on their last episode, and it had been running a muck for the last few days. Finally, it showed itself, nothing too terrible, and it was weak to fire, Junpei's specialty. "Hermes!" He quickly drew his evoker and in a blinding flash and Agidyne spell hit the monster at full force, killing it instantly. "Huh." Junpei sighed as his persona faded away.

"Why so down Junpei?" Fuuka's voice sounded in his head. "You got him."

"Eeh. I know." He put his sword away and stretched. "I was just hoping for more of a challenge. I one-shotted him."

"Hehe." She laughed. "You really are starting to sound like Akihiko. But look at it like this, you've become much stronger."

"Yeah, yeah." He said.

"The dark hour's almost over, you should head home."

"I guess." As he began to turn to go back up the stairs, not quite past the corner, something caught his eye. He had noticed there were a lot of coffins in the 'pit'; normally there were a lot of people down there, but this was more than usual. That's when he saw it. On the green barrel in the corner was money, and something else. Approaching the pile of cash, he saw that there were more than a dozen little white sticks of paper, neatly rolled and sacked into a pyramid. It was then that his heart was in his throat. If he hadn't have found the shadow as quickly as he did, he might have still been around when the dark hour left, and he would have been right in the middle of a drug deal. "Mmm?" Noticing a purse by the steps leading to the Maj-hong hall, he knew it belonged to a girl in the class next to his own. He also knew she was a bitch.

He glanced back to the stack of joints and the money, looking to be around $120, which wasn't a whole lot. "So it's her crew down here..." He got a devious smile and rubbed his hands together with evil intent. "Let's make some waves shall we." Grabbing all the money and the joints, he wrapped them in the bills an began to walk off. "Let's see how fun your Saturday night is now." With a proud smile on his face, he walked off.

Making his way past some shops on the way to the dorm, he tossed the money into a donation bin for the local hospital, then quickly looking for a garbage bin to dispose of the drugs, the dark hour finally dissipated and everyone returned to normal. "Shit." He quickly searched his pockets. He remembered that he had a sandwich bag from lunch he forgot to toss. He slipped the joints into the bag with no one noticing and then jammed them back in his coat pocket. Doing his best to look as cool as a cucumber, he continued to walk home.

Finally, Junpei made it back to the front steps of his dorm and sighed. It was only when his hand touched the knob that he realized that everyone was still up, and there was no running from them. '_I'll just put them in my room and flush them at school tomorrow_.' He didn't want the chance of having the toilet clog a home and have to explain why there was Marijuana in the sump-pump water.

"Welcome back." Mitsuru said as he passed into the dorm. "I've been informed that all wen well, good job Iori."

"Thanks." He said with as much certainty as he could muster. He noticed that Fuuka, Mitsuru and Koromaru were the only one's who stayed up, so that was a little less stress, he relaxed more.

"You should get to bed, I happen to know your class is reviewing for the exams tomorrow."

Junpei hung his head.

"Exams are in a week. You'd best review." Mitsuru said in her usual 'I shouldn't have to tell you this' tone.

"If you like Junpei, I could study with you tomorrow." Fuuka said supportingly.

"Sure." He fake yawned, it was convincing. "For now, I'm goin' to bed. See you in the morning." He turned and began to walk.

"Oh Iori." Mitsuru said.

Junpei's heart was in his throat, but he managed to keep cool. "Yes, Mitsuru-senpai?" She held out her hand to him. "What?" He knew it, she could smell the weed in his pocket. He thought the bag would hold the scent, but obviously not.

"Your evoker's due for a tune up. I'll bring it to Ikutsuki and have it back to you tomorrow." She looked at him, straight in the eyes.

"Oooh." Blood pressure finally dropping, he reached around his back, undid the buckle and handed the holster with the evoker still in it.

"Thank you...are you alright?" She sensed his uneasiness.

Finally calming down all the way, he nodded. "Yeah, I'm just beat."

After saying goodnight to the two girls, he headed off to his room. Flopping back on his bed, he pulled the bag from is coat pocket. None of the contents of the bag broke, they were all still there. But that smell, it was still coming through. Looking around his room for something to put it in, he only found another bag. Placing it in the second sandwich bag, he continued to search. Success! He found the old box to his hand held game system. Opening it, he found the manual and nothing more. "Perfect." He slid the double bagged joints into the small box and nonchalantly tossed it beneath his bed.

Laying down in his bed, he regretted donating all the money, he wanted Hagakure for lunch the following day, had he have kept it all, someone would have noticed him spend it, but $10 wouldn't have hurt. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep with dreams of yummy ramen.

* * *

The sun rose and was up several hours before Junpei. He got out of bed and began to get dressed, yawning the whole way. He knew that there was a review that day that he was not looking forward to, he left his door half open, just to get his room some air, the window was open as well, so he knew there'd be a cross breeze.

Heading down the stairs and out the door, he let out another yawn. After a short walk and a bottle of coffee milk from the vending machine, he finally made his way past the gates of the school.

He overheard a conversation in passing. "They were both there, hands both showing and then the money and the junk just disappeared." One girl, with a familiar voice sounded. "We had plans and everything for tonight too."

"Freaky. Did you check everyone?" The other girl asked.

Junpei froze.

"Yeah, pockets, secret pockets, purses, even hair! Nothing. They were gone. Now we have to find someone else." She said, planting a fist on her waist.

'_I forgot them._' He said in his mind. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind when the bell rang. He seemed to be regretting taking the drugs in the first place, because now, he had forgot them beneath his bed, and there was no school the following day. '_I'm sure they're safe, I'll get rid of them on Monday._'

Once again, Junpei forgot about the several grams of weed under his bed ad carried on throughout the day as normal. Right until the end of the day, on his way to his little locker, he heard the same girl talking with her friend.

"I know, I know. Real lucky, I'm glad we found him." She sounded pleased with herself.

"So how did the test go?" A different friend from the morning asked.

"Oh, it was great. It was like it was just me, and the test, no pressure." She waved both her hands out to her sides o show a smooth motion. "It was great."

The other girl leaned in and spoke in a quieter tone, Junpei could still hear her. "Do you always write your tests while you're high?"

She nodded. "I did it once last year, and I got awesome marks, I could just concentrate so much better. So kept doing it. We should give it a try next time we have a composition test together."

They giggled. "Sure." The other girl said.

"Now come on, I'm starting to crash and I need some food. Burn out sucks, it's the only bad thing about doing it during the day. I sleep like a baby when I do it before bed."

They walked off, chatting about various things that couldn't be made out past the doors of the school. Junpei put his indoor shoes away and put his sneakers back on. He knew it was foreshadowing some terrible event.

If he'd have run home, someone would have suspected something, so decided to go to the manga face to relax for a while, dozing off in the process. Then, he went home as casual as he could; this time, he didn't forget about the Marijuana, he needed to get rid of it now. He also stopped at the shrine on the way home and drew a 'worst luck' fortune. Hoping it was referring to something else, like the exams coming up, he opened the door to the dorm.

"Hey." Yukari said as Junpei walked through the doors of the dorm.

"Hey." He mirrored her response.

She continued to walk by and lean over the couch to Akihiko. "I cleaned out my make-up bag and tried to flush the old cotton balls...and they got stuck."

He placed his gloves down. "You want me to unclog it?"

"Pleeeese?" She folded her hands.

He sighed. "Alright." He stood up and turned around to see Junpei standing at the door. "Ah, good timing. I'm going to unclog the toilet, save me the trip and go to the basement and turn on the pump."

Junpei's heart sank as far as it could. He knew he was lined up for trouble. "No problem."

After fighting with the pump in the basement, he headed upstairs, to the second floor. On the way to his room, he could see that the door was still open, it was then he remembered he left the door in to air it out while he was gone. Upon further inspection, he noticed that someone was in his room.

"Huh...? Mitsuru-senpai?" He approached his room and entered to find not only Mitsuru, but Kurosawa as well. "Wh-what the hell!? Kurosawa-san? What's going on here!?" He said as if he didn't already know, he had been busted.

"Iori!?" Mitsuru said with surprise. "Where were you? I've been trying to contact you!"

He panicked inwardly, but managed to keep a calm countenance. "Huh? Oh, uh...it was hot, and the AC was busted, so I went to the manga cafe and fell asleep..."

She heaved a relieved sigh. "Well, I'm just glad you're safe." She though for a moment. "But if it wasn't an attack, then it must have been theft... Why would the burglar target this room...?"

"Theft?" Had the dealer he took the weed from have found out who he was and where he lived?

"Wat else could it be? Someone clearly tore though the room looking for something." Mitsuru clenched her fist tight, a determined look on her face. "Vandalizing a school dorm... When I find out who did this, I'll see to it that he or she is executed."

Suddenly, it started to make sense to him.

"Well son." The police officer approached him. "Sounds like you've got a death sentence." They both looked shocked. "How about it Iori? Was this room, in fact, vandalized?" He asked the youth who was no longer trembling.

"Uh...heh hehe...well..." He said with slight disgrace. "My room always looks like this..."

"Wh-what!?" She looked from side to side, trying to grasp the situation better. "B-but..." She locked eyes with the police officer and then to Junpei. "You can't possibly live here in this state, can you!?" She held out her finger to point toward the door. "A-and...the door was open."

"Oh, right..." He shoved his thumbs in his pockets, letting the rest of his hand lay over the side. "I wanted to air the place out while I was gone. No one we don't know ever comes around, so..."

Mitsuru looked down, a shame laden look adorn her face.

Officer Kurosawa breathed in deeply. "I think this case is closed. May I return to my duties, Miss Kirijo?"

"Oh...yes..." She said, somewhat distant. "I'm...sorry you had to see something so disgraceful."

Junpei couldn't help but be a little offended. Kurosawa took his leave and Mitsuru approached Junpei, not making any eye contact. "I apologize for all of this...It seems my upbringing may have been more sheltered than I realized..." Following in Kurosawa's footsteps, she left Junpei's room, this time, closing the door behind herself.

He stood there, dumbfounded. "C'mon, at least yell at me or something!? What's the deal with you calling the police over a messy room, anyway!? What did I do to deserve this!?" He thought. "Hey, wait..." He remembered the shrine. "That fortune I drew on the way back...It WAS 'worst luck'..." He glanced over his shoulder to his bed. "Well, at least they didn't find the weed." He turned and sat on his bed, relaxing, finally, after a long and stressful day. Only one more day before he could dispose of the unwanted material.

* * *

That scene is what actually spawned this fic. I thought he looked a little more freaked out for someone who didn't do anything wrong...just seemed suspicious.

For those of you who haven't played "Persona 3 FES", the scene in Junpei's room is from a tape recording that you watch in the command room. I pretty much copied it word for word, so I don't take credit for it, but it was necessary to link it properly, the descriptions are mine though. :) And the rest is mine too.


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my, I revised this one and 'ho-snap' there were SO many errors.

They're gone now and it's just the fic and it's ficcy goodness.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Junpei paced back and forth in his room, occasionally glancing underneath at the head of his bed, that box was still there. It was Sunday, and there was nothing to do, much like every Sunday. Everyone was out doing their own thing and unfortunately for Junpei, he neglected to make plans with anyone. "Study?" He said aloud to no one. "Eeh." He sighed.

Making his way to the center of his bed, he sat down on the edge and laid on his side, briefly, only to grab his old game console box and return to sitting. Popping the box open, he got a strong scent of the Marijuana, very much like the scent of wet trees, wet evergreen trees more precisely, not exact, but that was the closest thing he could think of. It was a very unique scent. He messed around with the bags and tugged one of the joints out into plain view. "Makes you concentrate, huh?" He held it close to his nose and inhaled. "Woah...pff." The staunch smell was more offending the closer he got. "I've been told it's bad...but I've been told a lot of things." He debated the idea back and forth in his head for a solid five minutes.

No one was home, and he did need to study. "Let me think." He counted on his fingers. "If she did it at lunch and it was starting to wear off at the end of the day...that should be three hours." He looked at his clock, and it read nine minutes after ten. "The earliest someone gets home is..." He looked at the calendar. "...Yukari said she'd be back by three...but she doesn't bother to come and talk to me...Akihiko's gym session ends at four thirty...that should give me plenty of time to recover if this doesn't work out." He held the Marijuana cigarette up in front of him, it was at that moment, he decided giving it a try might help him study better; it might have actually made him study, period.

"Hmmm." Glancing around his room, he looked for a way to smoke said joint without the smell traveling throughout the whole dorm. "Ah!" He went on his knees and reached under the foot of his bed; beneath his bed was it's own vortex of useless junk and useful things, like a small desktop fan, one third the size of a regular one. Travel sized. He had meant to bring it to Yakushima, but inevitably forgot it the mess that was the underside of his bed.

He set it up his light green chair next to the window and the fan ever so carefully on the sill, plugged it in and turned it on. "Lighter..." He remembered seeing one in the kitchen. Making a brief trip to the kitchen, he made himself a sandwich and grabbed the lighter from the rear of the utensil drawer. Heading back up to his room, he glanced around the floor, there wasn't a sound, it was perfectly silent.

Heading back into his room he sat in his low chair and took the joint off his table that sat in front of his television. "..." He paused in second thought. "Well...my marks can't really get worse..." Throwing away any reason, he placed the cigarette in his mouth and lit the end. Not wanting to get a huge blast of ho smoke, he inhaled slowly and held it in for a couple seconds. '_Did I get anything?_' He thought, then exhaled toward the fan, a light, white smoke danced through the air and wafted out the window. "Hmm." Despite the smell, the taste was minimal, dry at best. He did his best to hold the lit end near the window, so the smoke trailing off the end would go out the window too. Again, he inhaled, held it and then blew it out the window once more.

He and never drank before, nor smoked a plain cigarette, so jumping straight to this made him slightly nervous. Every couple of puffs he took, he swore he could hear someone downstairs, but he knew there wasn't. He even go up to check once. It was the paranoia. Several tokes in and he sat back. "Is this even working?" He looked around his room, everything seemed normal, he didn't feel strange or different.

Junpei looked down at the small white stick in his hand. The small glowing embers that adorn the tip of the joint burned a hot red color beneath the black, white tipped ash. As the smoke let it self free from the burning point, he couldn't help but notice that it came straight off, and then make a swirl motion, coiling it into a cylinder and then disapating out the window. "That's neat..." He shook his head. "Woah."

Junpei closed his eyes and got his barrings straight, it would seem that the Reefer took a few minutes to sink in. "That feels different." There was no way he could think to describe it aside from he felt like he was _really_ in the room, and when he looked to different parts of his room, it was like he was traveling to different spots, but staying in the same place. It also gave the sensation that he was inside of his own body, looking out. He knew that was always the case, but now, he took the time to truly realize it.

"This is something else. Heh." He laughed to himself for coming across this perplexing discovery. The joint was nearly gone, so he decided to finish it. He moved his legs into a comfortable position, only to have them disobey him. They moved where he wanted them to go, but the sensation of the rubbing of denim on skin made his legs feel as if they were trying to cling to his clothing. Elated by this new feeling, touched the hem of his pants, it felt as though it was not only touching his fingers, but puling at them. He fumbled around, amused with the new way he was experiencing things.

"I wonder." He reached over to his bed, not too far away, to the soft blanket he kept beneath his bed; it was a soft polyester, just in case he got cold in the middle of the night. It felt odd to touch without any substances, so he reached out and took hold of it. The fibers could be felt the whole length of his hand, and he contorted it in such a way that his hand became tangled in the material, it was as if the blanket was wrapping itself around his hand. "Ooook. Enough of that." It was overwhelming, tickling, so he decided to give it a rest.

Finally, taking the last puff, he flicked the remaining ashes out the window and sat back in his chair, stretched, and then relaxed. Closing is eyes, he could see patterns. Strange hue's of color and many different shapes, at first it was a hexagon, cyan in color and then it moved to a series of lines that morphed into triangles of navy blue. "Intense..." Opening his eyes once again, he turned his attention to the table. It contained two things, his chosen study material for the day, and his sandwich. Ham, lettuce, cheese and mayo, all coming together to make something that just couldn't be resisted.

Making straight for the sandwich, not wanting to study on an empty stomach, he bit in. His eyes glowed with delight. "This is so good...holy shit..." He continued to gnaw at the sandwich till it had been full consumed. It was then he realized why people eat a lot while they're high, food tasted so much better. Amazing even.

At last, it came time to study. He opened the book and looked at the words. It seemed as though the words were detached from the pages, like he was looking at an autostereogram*. He began to read. When he read, the images in his had were so vivid, Junpei felt as though he was dreaming while being awake.

Time passed and at the end of everything, Junpei found himself cheek down around the back of his book. "Are you in there?" A female voice resonated from the other side of the door.

His eyes darted toward his clock, it read four o'clock, and the effects of the Marijuana didn't wear off. Junpei didn't incorporated tolerance levels, so for someone who did it on a regular basis would process it a lot quicker than someone who's trying it for the first time. "Coming." He panicked.

* * *

*autostereogram is the same as what most people know as 'magic eye'. Google it if you have to. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hmm, this one didn't seem too bad, still, a lot of spelling errors.

Oh well, no more back tracking, all my chapters are up to date now and well be error free...for the most part. :p

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Hold on!" Junpei said in sheer panic. Frantically, he hid the offending items back beneath his bed, turned his fan around so it was blowing in fresh air and finally, composed himself enough to answer the door. "Yeah?" He said, slightly out of breath. The high hadn't worn off completely, mostly, but not all the way. The touch sensation seemed to be going into overdrive.

"Akihiko is on his way home and wants to know if you want to order anything, he's at Hagakure right now." She held her cell hone away from her ear while she addressed Junpei.

Relieved that she wasn't perturbed by the smoke smell, he breathed easy. "Nah, I'm pretty broke right now."

She laid the phone against her ear once again. "He says he's poor......ok." She removed the phone from her ear again. "He said he'd pick up the pork bowl for you, it's on special today."

Really wanting something else to eat, he nodded. "Sure. I'll pay him back next week."

"Sure..." She looked around his room and recalled Junpei being somewhat breathless when she first opened the door. "What are you doing in here?"

He hooked his thumb over his right shoulder. "Studying."

"Suurre." She rolled her eyes. "Fuzzy hands can't turn the pages of a book." That being said, she closed the door and continued her conversation with Akihiko.

"...you know.. you don't have to be such a bitch." He said loudly, not caring if she heard or not. He sighed, pleased he hadn't been found out and on top of that, he would be getting a free meal. Akihiko never wanted to be paid back, he was good like that. Not wanting to take advantage of his kindness, he would still offer to pay him back.

That following Monday, Junpei took the box of weed and put it in his book bag. Figuring that once was enough, he headed off to school. Ms. Toriumi stopped him on the way into the building. "Good morning, Junpei." She began, slightly hesitant. "I've been looking through my records and...your marks...they're..."

"Bad." He finished her sentence.

"I was going to say _'in need of improvement'_." She handed him a paper. "I'm doing this for the good of my overall class mark. This will be a one time thing, so don't get attached."

Slightly confused, he unfolded the paper. "What's all this?"

She poked the back of the sheet. "It's a small outline for the pop quiz I'm giving after lunch. This gives you the morning to review the notes, and hopefully, boost your score."

Junpei was shocked. He was given a second chance. "Thank you Ms. Toriumi."

"You tell anyone and you automatically get zero. Are we clear?" She locked eyes with him.

He smirked. "Tell anyone about what?" He said, slipping the paper in his pocket.

"Carry on." She smiled and walked off to the faculty room.

She could be quite the stiff sometimes, but today, Junpei saw a kinder side to her. Though he was aware he would more than likely never see it again, it was reassuring to know that it was there.

Try as he might, nothing he looked over was sticking. "..." He tried to go over it in his head, but all that marqueed was 'You'll still get them wrong'. Junpei knew he had trouble with concentrating. Which is when the thought hit him. The test was going to be after lunch, so that gave him time to study while he ate, but he had studied as much as he could, it was pulling up the knowledge that was the tricky part. But on Sunday, when he was studying, high no less, he could.

Memories seemed to have been evading him all that week, while he was taking to his teacher, he forgot to flush the weed sticks. '_Maybe, one last time._' It was a special occasion, the teacher actually giving him slack, he thought it would do no harm to give what the previous owner of the Marijuana did. Take a test while he was high.

Since he had only done it once before, he still coughed a lot while doing it. "Where could I..." He said almost silently while still in first period, behind the guise of his books. He thought some more.

The roof of the school was completely out of the question. If someone heard him cough, they would probably report him to the student council, and even though the '**smoker**' incident would be erroneously solved, that didn't solve his problem. Port island station was where people went to do many elicit things, but it was too crowded. However, the section by the back door was usually vacant. He could take the back way and get into the ally from the other side of the street. '_But this is it._' He chanted in his own head.

Classes passed, and finally the time came, lunch time. Scurrying for the subway train, he made his way to the designated location. "Oh, what's all this?" He rounded the corner to find brand new furniture was being delivered, in large boxes no less, to the back of the maj-hong hall. Junpei thought that it was a sign, so figuring nothing else, this was a good idea to do it behind the large pile of boxes.

Same ritual as the day before, this time, it was difficult to stifle the coughing, it must have been the upright position. Not even spending the entire lunch period in the back alley, he decided there was still time to head to Hagakure. Walking was strange, mostly due to the fact it was a windy day; as Junpei's hands swung at his sides, he got the sensation that they were passing through a current of water.

Not realizing the time until he passed the restaurant, he copped out on getting ramen and decided some odd Takoyaki would suffice. He bought two packs and ate them on the train ride back to school. The bell rang. '_Moment of truth._' He triumphantly thought to himself.

The testing began. Once again, the patterns and pictures came to mind. His pen flowed and answered, for once, all of the questions. The girl was right, it was just him and the test. After getting down his final answer, he briefly glanced over the test, again, envisioning the answers as he went. For once, the testing felt natural, as if he was prepared for it. "Heh." He laughed once out loud.

"Is there a problem Junpei?" Ms. Toriumi stood over him.

He stifled a laugh. "Nothin'." Junpei flipped his test over.

"..." She looked skeptical, but continued her walk down the isle to the front of the room and back to her desk.

Looking up to the wall clock, Junpei realized that he was only a half hour into the test and he was already finished. '_No way._' A few more times, he flipped the test over to look at it, he began to get bored of looking it over time and time again, he had to of checked it an additional four times without even realizing it. Eventually, resting his head on his desk, Junpei shut his eyes and enjoyed a vivid look into his mind. Thoughts seemed to flow together and lead into one another perfectly, almost as if he was watching a movie. Or at least, a music video.

The final bell rang and Junpei stood up, still being fully effected by the drug. He handed his test off to the teacher. "So, how do we think we did Mr. Iori?" She asked in an assumptive way.

"Pretty good ma'am." He snickered. "You may notice, my mark be a little, high." Pun out of the way, he left the classroom. He had been wanting to say that pun since he finished, and was glad he remembered to do so.

The following day...

"Alright. This was only for some bonus points, but I feel this will prepare you for the overall exam better. Thus, ensuring you have an idea of what it'll be like, hopefully boosting your scores." She handed the tests out as she walked down the isles. "Impressive." She handed Junpei's test back to him.

"Hmm?" He glanced at the top of the page to see a ninety-one staring back at him. "No way." He held the test to his chest. He was expecting '_better than just above a pass_' or '_average_', but to score so high, he had no way to explain it to anyone, except for the teacher, who was just going to chalk it up to her notes she gave him. But he couldn't tell anyone about that. It was especially stressful now that the teacher was going to be expecting a mark like this on the exam.

It looked like his experimentation with the weed would have to continue. '_But this is it, after exams, I'm done!_' He harshly told himself.

* * *

I write from experience for the most part, but I never did it while I was in school. I've just base it on stories from friends who have done it while testing.

Personally, I have a very hard time concentrating. o.o Plus, it makes me really tired too, so overall, I'd advise against it.


	4. Chapter 4

I know it's been a while since I updated, but I actually came up with a really good idea.

Good things come to those who wait.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Exams were upon them and Junpei was sweating bullets. He had fallen asleep on his books the previous night and was positive he wasn't prepared for the exam. '_I've been studying high for a week now, but I still can't remember when I'm sober._' He had tried so hard to study, but it was no use, he just couldn't get it to stick in the default state of mind. Junpei had always heard of drugs ruining lives, but never improving them. He knew he was odd, but this was annoying. The exam was in the morning, he couldn't do it before he left the house, people would either hear him or smell the smoke.

He mentally kicked himself for using it as a crutch, but when you have a bum mind, sometimes a crutch was all one needed. Wondering what it may hold for him in the future, he slinked around the back of the school. '_I'm just doing this to pass, it's not like I'm abusing it. Right?_' He asked himself, sadly, he came up with no other answer.

The observatory was usually empty, the janitor would go in there to clean it every so often, but that was only after school, if at all. He went all the way around the school so he could slink around the back of the observatory, had he have entered through the front gate, chances are he would have been caught. There were lots of trees and shrubs obscuring the view of the people heading into the building, so he snuck by behind them while up against the wall surrounding the perimeter, carefully watching to see if anyone was looking.

Junpei pushed past a bush that was right against the wall and came to a small clearing. A clearing, except for the girl standing in the center of it. "What the hell?" She said, hiding something behind her back.

"Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be back here." He was caught, or so he thought until he saw the smoke trailing up behind her back. "Oh, you're smoking." He was relieved, not only was she there smoking, but it was the girl he actually stole the Marijuana from in the first place. How ironic he thought.

"You better not tell. I _will_ get my boyfriend to beat you senseless." She clasped a fist at him.

Junpei waved away her frustration. "No worries. Mind if I join you?" He pulled out the joint from his back pocket. He inwardly chuckled at the fact that she just didn't know it was originally hers.

"Oh." She was shocked. "Sure..." She took a step back to allow Junpei to have some space to light.

He smelled the air. "That's not tobacco, is it."

"Nope." She too seemed slightly dazed now that her adrenaline rush was gone. "Make sure to exhale up." He tilted her head to the branches of the trees above and spewed smoke from betwixt her glossy lips. "I don't want the smell on my cloths."

He lit it up. The first puff was always the worst tasting, the paper was twisted at the top, so the first puff just tasted like burnt paper.

"So like...when did you become cool?" She asked, puffing on her cig.

"I became cool?" He was confused, he always seemed to be the last to find these sorts of things out.

She shrugged. "I only ever see you parked in front of a video game all the time. But this..." She held out her hand, presenting his joint. "This is dedication to becoming cooler. You get in with the right crowds this way, you know what I mean? The popular clique. Lots of friends." She was already quite stoned, he could tell by the way she was talking and moving. She kept swaying back and forth. "Lots and lots."

"Really? That's awesome." He lied. He didn't feel cooler, he felt like two cents having to resort to drugs to help him pass school. It was kind of embarrassing for him.

"Ch'yeah. Why don't you come down to the Maj-hong hall sometime?" She smiled. "Now that I know you're not a wad." She laughed. "Not completely at least." She laughed more.

Junpei wanted to say no right away, but he hesitated, just in case she heard the disgust in his voice. "I don't think I'd fit in well, I mean, this is all we'd have in common." He said bringing the 'J' up for another puff, pinched precariously between his fingers.

"You don't know that. A few guys are into basketball, I know Mamano likes wrestling. There's Sanji the trade student, he's into speed." She was counting on her fingers, but when she got to Sanji, Junpei coughed in shock.

"Speed?" He was stunned. Apparently this crew was in a little deeper in the drugs than he imagined.

The girl laughed. "Hah! I'm kidding. He's into street racing. Speed. Racing. Get it?" She laughed at her own joke.

He sighed. "Oh." He laughed, it was kind of funny. A little. Only funny because he really couldn't decide what was worse.

All throughout the ten minute long conversation, even after the THC permeated every corner of Junpei's brain, he still didn't think that hanging out with her 'tasteful' friends seemed like a good idea. The first bell rang and Junpei polished off his last puff and held it and then released it into the leaves, dispersing it. "Follow my lead." The girl, who came to be known as Zai-chan waved him on to follow behind. She took a small bag and began to shake it. "Here kitty-kitty-kitty. Pss pss pss. Come'ere."

He followed close behind. She was slinking around to the front of the observatory with a bag of cat treats in her hand. He followed suit. "Her kitty. Come on." He snapped his fingers.

When they were both out in the open, a small white cat came into view, he wasn't a baby, but he sure wasn't full grown. "Oh." He said with surprise.

"I bring him every morning when I have a test. It works as a great alibi." She sprinkled some treats on the ground for the small animal, which in turn, he dug in. "Normally I don't get seen by anyone, but there was a time I did get seen by miss Toriumi. Luckily she bought it." Zai extended a hand to the cat and it purred and rubbed against her hand. "Quick, pet him, we have exams."

Junpei leaned down and brushed the animal. His fur was so smooth and cool, it felt as though he were petting a snake. "Woah, he's soft." He took the cat's head in both hands and massaged behind his ears. "You like that?" He baby talked the cat as he scruffed his head up.

"Come on." She motioned to walk to the school.

Junpei needed to find his gum to get the taste off his tongue. He looked in front of him to see a sprig of parsley. "Umm."

"Get's the smell out of your mouth. Chew gum too though. Do you have one?" She asked.

He struggled to get his coat off, he would pull it in one direction, but then he felt like he was slipping to the ground, so he grabbed it again with the other arm to compensate, but that only pulled the coat back on. Finally managing to remove his coat, he dug the package of gum out and offered her one, to which took it. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Don't tell me this is your first 'high test'?" She seemed shocked.

"Second." He assured her. "Got a 91 first time."

"Impressive. You should be good." She gave him a slap on the back. "Nice to meet you Junpei, good luck."

"Good luck, thanks." With that, he sauntered on over to the bathroom. Waiting till everyone was gone, he looked in the mirror, his eyes were all bloodshot. "The hell?" They had never become so red before, a few extra veins, but not like this; they were so shot, they were completely pink. He rubbed them, hoping to make it go away, but it didn't work. He caught the scent of cologne in the air and sneezed. "Damn." The head rush nearly knocked him over.

"It really sucks, doesn't it?" A boy said from behind him. "I saw you do it. You brought it on yourself."

Junpei nearly shat a brick. He had been seen. "..." He struggled for words, his heart pounding away in his chest, his legs wobbled beneath him. He was really stoned and had no way to defend himself.

"I won't tell the principal though." He said in a reassuring tone while reaching into his bag.

"Alright thanks...I really don't um, want to get in trouble to-with for it." His grammar was failing.

The boy emerged with eye drops. Handing them to Junpei. "Even I do it sometimes." He smiled.

"It's helpful...for me at least." He applied the drops to one eye and it stung, he reacted to the pain. "It burns!" He had calmed down, knowing that this guy was on his side, but the pain was quite painful. His senses had been intensified, so what have been a mild sting, now felt like he had salt in his eye.

"Wow, you have bad allergies. You should talk to the nurse if it gets too bad." The younger student showed worry.

"Allergies?" Junpei was confused, but he checked his face in the mirror. The difference in color between his two eyes was staggeringly noticeable. One was glazed pink, the other glossy white. "This works!" He went to put the eye drops bottle up to the other eye but forgot he needed to tilt the bottle up. Gravity and such.

"Yeah, animals can relieve stress, but if you're going to pet them, never put your hands near your eyes, especially if it's a stray, or this is going to happen again." He pointed to Junpei's face.

Junpei thought for a moment. '_Allergies? He thinks I just touched the cat._' He laughed.

"You have to either take him home or he's going to go to the pound." The shorter boy glanced in the mirror to see if his hair wasn't windswept.

"Yeah, I'm sure a girl is gonna see him and be all 'love' and pick him up and treat him and take him to her home. Don't worry, I got a feeling." He handed the eye drops back to the guy. "Thanks." He began to leave the bathroom.

"Oh and, I won't tell anyone about you being behind the observatory either." He said with a smirk.

Frozen in time, Junpei spun on his heel to once more face the boy. "What now?"

"I saw you two. I'm not stupid." He stepped closer.

"For real?" He said, sweating bullets.

He nodded. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He smacked Junpei in the arm. "You sly dog. Nice catch." He pointed his fingers as he brushed past.

Well it was so much for breakfast, Junpei quickly ran into a stall and vomited. His heart pounded so much at the thought of being seen using Marijuana that his body went into a melt down, the strange thing was, he felt no nausea, he just knew that he had to go. That was something he would have to remember, no nausea. He grabbed the handle and flushed and grabbed his breath on the way out of the stall. Making a makeshift cup with his hand, he rinsed his mouth and reached for another piece of gum. He looked into the mirror, the vessels in his eyes had returned, at least this time he had a legitimate reason for being there, rather than an illegitimate one.

"Composition...here I go." He stood up straight and headed to class, as he passed by the students, they bumped into his shoulders and made an echoing feeling throughout his entire body. The feeling intensified when he closed his eyes.

Finally making it to the class, he sat down and looked to the clock with only a minute to spare before testing began.


	5. Chapter 5

There we have it, one more.

And yes, there will be drama. It's all fun and games at first though! Makes the drama more 'dramatic' if it follows really good times.

But where will it go? Love triangle? Jail? Expulsion? Who knows. Hehe. :)

R&R PLZ! XD

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

The exam week went as well as the review the week before. The same images came to mind, the ones he studied, and they just flowed on to the test. The essay part was the hardest thing, he had a hard time forming full sentences, a couple words were missing here and there. He had no eraser by the end of it.

At the end of the final exam the bell sounded and he stood up. Doing so he imagined a ghost of himself rising to stand and then his body followed shortly after. The sensation he got from standing was like his body had to fit back into this other self before he could move anywhere else. It was a wonderful sensation, a great reward for doing so well. He left the class and ran into Yukari, who had exited through the back. "Was it any better for you, I totally didn't get the last section."

"Don't know, have to wait for the results I guess," he played with the zipper on his coat absentmindedly. The cold metal trickled over his fingers and was rather amusing.

"Yeah..." she trailed off, "You wanna go get some ramen."

His attention snapped to her and shook his head, "I'm still broke," he said with regret, he had some money the other day but spent it on a book.

"You can pay me back, I don't want to go by myself. The girls are going out somewhere I'm not up for tagging along to." She walked along side Junpei in the hall. She never seen it before, this side of Junpei was very stoic and relaxed. "You seem calm, I guess you were studying after all."

He smiled wide, "I had a new study method that helps."

"What's that now," she giggled, "Putting the game down before picking up a book."

Junpei chuckled, "Funny," he stuck his hand in his pocket and felt the other joint he brought along as celebration, "Yukari..." he thought about telling her, but stopped short, "Never mind,"

"No. What? You got me interested now," she pried.

"Could I get extra pork?" he lied. Well, he did want extra pork, but that wasn't it. But there was no getting past her.

She immediately suspected something and leaned closer to him, "Did you cheat?" she asked with a hushed tone.

"No way. I just studied," he was getting nervous now.

Yukari was unsure if he was lying or not, but she let it go. They made their way to Hagakure and ordered their noodles while sitting at the bar. Apparently they were swamped so it would be a few minutes.

"Mind if I join you?" a girl sounded from behind them. It was Fuuka, "I was passing by and saw you two through the window."

"Sure have a seat. Pork good?" she asked and received a nod, "Excuse me, can we have a third bowl."

Fuuka sat on one side of Junpei and Yukari on the other. He felt like a pimp. "Two lovely girls and dinner, looks like karma's rewarding me."

"How so?" she asked curiously.

"Junpei said he did well, apparently he studied hard," she snickered, "no cheat notes either."

He folded his arms smugly, "And I'm offended you'd think so," he laughed, "Maybe I'll get a higher mark than you."

"We'll see," she checked her cell phone, "I have to go make a call, I'll be right back," she got up and left.

Junpei turned to Fuuka, "How did your exam go?"

"I think I did good. Um, Junpei..." she seemed shy, she was normally a very meek person in general but not around her dorm-mates, so it was odd for her to be so shy.

He could see the concern in her face, "Something bothering you Fuuka? You're not yourself."

"Oh, its nothing, I'm just...concerned...about you."

"Why?" he hadn't been doing anything differently around anyone else, he saw no reason for her to be worried.

She held a note in her hand, something regarding school, but she played with it nervously. "I don't think anyone else noticed, but I just want you to know if you...oh...never mind.."

He froze, "I think I know," he thought about the night he came home after first finding the drugs, "I said I'd study with you...I forgot, sorry."

She smiled, "Next time," they sat quietly for a few more minutes until their bowls came, occasionally mentioning points of interest. Fuuka left her concern for later.

"Good the food's here," Yukari returned and they enjoyed their meal together. Junpei polished off his bowl, an extra order of pork and even the left overs from the girls. "Is your leg hollow? Where are you putting all this?" she laughed.

"Don't know, but it's good," he said and polished off the rest of the bowl's broth. Stacking them on top of one another he pushed them forward. "Where to now? Home?"

"I'd like to go pick up a few things at the pharmacy, if that's okay with you two," Fuuka said.

"Yeah," Junpei beamed, "I need to get some tape for my room," he actually did, it had been put off for a while now, but a box of his needed some mending.

Yukari smiled, "Sure. I want to pick up some cat food for a stray I've been looking out for. He's down by the bar at Port Island Station."

The three teens left the restaurant and boarded the subway. Before too long, they were at Paulownia Mall, it was busy as usual, it was also garbage day, to each of the stores had a pile of bags out front, soon to be collected. Making their way to the store in question, Yukari went to the cat food and picked up one other thing, it was an aerosol can of some sort. Fuuka got some cup ramen, a pack of gum and lip gloss. Junpei got his tape and some chips.

"Haven't you eaten enough," Yukari joked.

"They're for later, but you keep making fun, I won't share."

"Fair enough...so, do you guys have to go home right after this," they chatted as they paid for their purchases.

"I'm free," Fuuka said.

"I was gonna take a nap," he said, his high nearing is 'wearing off' stage, he recalled it be mentioned as 'burn out'. Luckily for him, the food gave him energy.

She clasped her hands together, "Great, I want to make a quick stop at the antique shop. The clerk called be back the other day, she has something for me."

After bagging their items, they sauntered on over to the antique shop. It always had an odd smell that Junpei always called 'antique smell' but now he had a different opinion on it. It was weed smell. The store did have the smell of having old dusty objects, but it also had that same smell of burning weed. "Odd..." he said aloud to himself.

"The idol?" she said, referencing the freaky looking statue to Junpei's right.

"No, the smell."

"The idol smells?"

"I don't think it can."

"No, the idol is making a smell"

"Oh, no, the smell in the air," he breathed in.

"That," she looked around to see the rest of the store was empty, "Yes, I smell it too."

Junpei looked around, was it coming from the clerk? "Hey," he said doing a full rotation, "Where's Yukari?"

Fuuka took hold of one elbow with the hand on the opposite arm and looked down, as if the ground held something worth looking at. "I'm...afraid for Yukari," she quietly blurted out. "That smell is the reason she's here, she's buying something illegal from the clerk here."

"Pot?" he said in curiosity.

"Yeah, wait, how did you know? Don't tell me you're buying it too," she folded her arms and looked even more nervous.

"No, I just went with Yukari for noodles, I had no clue she was coming here." He wasn't being totally honest with her. He felt he didn't need to tell her that he had done it too, earlier that day no less.

"We should talk to her about it. She doesn't smoke it often, she just told me-never mind, talk later, look at this with me," they turned around quickly to face the 'non smelly' idol from before. "Look at his eyes," she picked the doll up and shook it, its eyes wobbled around inside their little container.

"Ready to go?" Yukari said straightening her purse strap on her shoulder.

"Okay, come on Junpei," she said and followed behind Yukari, Junpei brought up the rear.

They walked past the Karaoke place and Yukari grabbed the two of them by the sleeves and pulled them into the alley. "Shh, kay?"

"Yukari, not in public," Fuuka said with concern and fear. She didn't want to get caught is Yukari was planning on smoking.

She led them down to the back of the alley and around a corner, "There's no security camera here," she said looking up at the corner to the smashed piece of equipment, "It's been broken for a year now,"

"Still," she looked around curiously, there was no one in sight, the back of the mall was just storage and parking, no one to be seen for a while.

"What are you doing?" he asked, keeping up the facade that he had no clue.

The taller girl reached into her purse and pulled out a miniature, pink glass pipe, "Ever smoke up before? It's a great way to relax after a bunch of exams. The girls wanted to have drinks, but it was at a strangers house, no way. I'll party alone before I go there," while she spoke, she grabbed a pinch of green and loosely packed it in the end of the pipe. "Either of you want in? Fuuka, you said you wanted to try it," she lit the end and took a long drag.

"I don't know Yukari, I'm having second thoughts. We can get kicked out of school for this," she rearranged the shawl over her shoulders and looked around with edge.

"Stop looking so supicious, just pretend we're only talking. Junpei?" she said and extended it to him.

He paused and looked at the 'pretty pink pipe', "..." giving it no more thought, he reached into his pocket and emerged with a joint wrapped up in plastic, "I got my own," he said and held a hand out for the lighter, which she handed over.

"Not you too!" Fuuka was now a bundle of nerves.

"I did it for all my exams, this is what I got on the quiz before exam week," he reached into the front of his book bag and emerged with the ninety-one he received from Ms. Toriumi.

"That's not possible," Fuuka said and took the paper from Junpei's hand, "Drugs mess you up...or so I've been told. Are you serious?" Her look turned to something that resembled defeat, as if her whole idea on what was right just shattered. It also had a twinge of disappointment.

"Everyone is different Fuuka, not everyone ends up a junkie. Moderate. It's key."

She still was looking at the test in awe, "I suppose, but I don't think it's for me,"

"Why not try and find out, it only lasts a couple hours."

"Yeah," Yukari followed up, "We can ride the train till it wears off."

"But if you don't want to, that's cool too. You can babysit us," Junpei tried to cheer her up.

He managed to get a smile out of her, "I guess. Just once though. One puff."

"Sure, see how you like it," he held out the joint. "Don't put it right to your lips, touch it lightly and take it away a few times," he showed her. He held it up and began breathing in, removing and replacing the joint a few times while inhaling rather quickly.

She mimicked him, "I don't think I got-" smoke began coming out of her mouth and she exhaled completely, "Never mind, I guess I did. Its not too bad."

Yukari and Junpei exchanged their pipe and joint to see if the other was different. Yukari shrugged, "Its too weak like that," she said and held the joint up.

Junpei was finishing his breath and blew out an enormous amount smoke and staggered back a bit. The rush hit him so hard his vision went gray and slowly returned to him. "Take it," he held out the pipe and she took it. He had to sit down against the wall. "I'm done, done like dinner, done like exams and done like a message," he made the girls laugh. "Do you want the rest of this Fuuka, Yukari?" he said holding up a nearly finished joint. That one toke on Yukari's pipe really did him in.

Fuuka took it to her mouth once more and had one more puff, same as before. She spoke through her smoke, "I don't feel anything."

Yukari shrugged and took it back from her, "I didn't feel it my first time either. Once you move around more you'll begin to notice it," she said and polished off the rest of the joint too.

It was clear her tolerance was way more than his own. "When did you first try it?" he asked as she sat down next to him, Fuuka beside her.

"I found it in my moms room over a year ago. I stole it from her and used it all in one sitting. I got in so much trouble because I was so messed up. Mom grounded me but said if I ever do it again, to be more careful. She even showed me how to do it properly. What kind of mother shows her kid to use drugs, huh? She even smoked it with me. At the time I didn't care, but after her boyfriend started coming around more she started drinking more," her speech was rapid, "then she started going away for days at a time, letting me fend for myself. Bitch! I found pills in her room and confronted her about it and asked her if she was planning on showing me how to snort them! I was so mad! Agh!" she said and buried her face in her knees that she pulled closer. "...how about you," she asked normally, "When did you first try it?"

The two of them looked at her with shock, she had blurted all that out. "I never knew...oh," not wanting her to continue for her own sake, he didn't try to pull anymore out of her, "Remember when you found that weak shadow outside Tartarus? Well, I was at the back of the station when I killed it. I saw a big bunch of joints and money laying around. So I took it."

"You stole it!" Yukari said, "That makes sense. Zai was complaining at archery all that morning. So it was you," she laughed, "It's good quality too."

He nodded, "I suppose. I did it the day you came to me with Aki on the phone. But you probably knew,"

She shook her head, "I didn't suspect a thing. How did you hide the smell?"

"Woo," Fuuka said, "I think it's working. I feel funny."

"That's good. Nice and mellow. Calm." Yukari breathed in and out with her.

Junpei joined them, it was really relaxing to control your breathing. "I-" he inhaled, and, "turned the fan around to blow the smoke out," exhaled as he spoke.

"Cleverrrr," she laughed. "Come on, the next subway train should be leaving soon."

"I can't get on the train," Fuuka said, looking worried.

She shook her head, "With all the smells on the subway, you wont be noticed," she reached into her bag and pulled out a deodorant spray and hit Junpei with a blast. She flawlessly dropped it back in her purse and pulled out a push button body spray and hit herself and Fuuka with it. "There, none the wiser."

"Its not that, the grass is holding me," she played with the grass as it flicked over her fingers, "It's tickling me," she giggled and fell over.


End file.
